


Hazy Shade of Winter

by ceealaina



Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2019 [9]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, MIT Era, Pining, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:00:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21843340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ceealaina/pseuds/ceealaina
Summary: Tony had been nursing a crush on his roommate-turned-best-friend since his first week at MIT. . . Since this was their last Christmas break where they’d be together in Cambridge, since Rhodey would be off somewhere probably classified with the military next December, Tony had decided that it was finally time to do something about it. He had an absolutely foolproof perfect plan. The greatest plan he’d ever come up with, definitely.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2019 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1271387
Comments: 43
Kudos: 157
Collections: Tony Stark Flash Bingo





	1. Snowball Fight

It was a couple days before New Year’s Eve, and Tony had A Plan. He’d made a deal with Maria: He would come home for Christmas, make the society party rounds and play the dutiful son, even play nice (within reason) with Howard. And in return, he was able to head back to MIT right after Boxing Day Brunch, and spend the rest of his holiday and New Years in Cambridge. 

Which meant he had six full days with Rhodey all to himself. 

Tony had been nursing a crush on his roommate-turned-best-friend since his first week at MIT -- although back then it had been more of a physical thing (and, admittedly, a little bit of a ‘this would  _ really _ piss off Howard’ thing). Tony had always been the type to fall fast, and hard, and to be honest, briefly, and had figured he’d ease out of it once he’d gotten to know the other man a bit better. No better cure for a crush than finding their socks soaking in the kitchen sink, or tripping over their dirty underwear on your way to the bathroom, right?

Instead, it had only grown worse. He wouldn’t have traded his friendship with Rhodey for anything in the world, but at some point in the past few years he’d fallen fully, completely, pathetically in love with him. At first he’d tried to tell himself that wasn’t really what was going on. It was just that Rhodey was gorgeous, and they lived in close quarters. Tony had grown up in a mansion, he’d never lived this closely with anyone before. It was only natural that his feelings would start going all wonky. Plus he was a teenager, and hormones, and, and, and... 

(And, when he was feeling particularly raw, he’d ask himself if maybe it wasn’t a crush at all. If maybe he had just confused because Rhodey was the first person to actually care about Tony’s well being for no other reason than that he genuinely seemed to  _ like _ him, and his brain didn’t know how to process that.) 

But when Tony tripped over said dirty underwear for the fifth time in a week, and realized that it didn’t even give him pause, that it was irritating but also weirdly endearing? He’d given up trying to pretend that he was anything other than completely in love with his best friend. 

He knew absolutely that it was one-sided. Rhodey definitely did not feel the same way. But sometimes he would give him this fond smile that was different in a way that Tony couldn’t quite place. Sometimes there was a hug that went on a beat too long, a hand just a centimeter too low on his back. Tony was a genius, he couldn’t turn his brain off even when he tried, and he found himself cataloguing every touch, every glance, and how they differed from everything before. And sometimes he found himself wondering if maybe --  _ maybe  _ \-- there couldn’t be something there. 

And, since this was their last Christmas break where they’d be together in Cambridge, since Rhodey would be off somewhere probably classified with the military next December, Tony had decided that it was finally time to do something about it. He had an absolutely foolproof perfect plan. The greatest plan he’d ever come up with, definitely. 

Step One: Getting wet and sexy. If movies had taught him anything, nothing was better than a car wash or water fight for realizing latent sexual attraction. (And if he was honest? Yes, Tony was fully sunshine and red roses in love with the man, but goddamn, did he want Rhodey to realize some latent sexual tension too.) Admittedly, he was a little constrained by the time of year — he was pretty sure if he tried to have a water fight in the middle of December, he’d end up in the hospital, either because of hypothermia or because Rhodey would have him committed — but they didn’t call him a genius for nothing. A fresh dusting of thick, powdery snow had fallen in the night, the kind of snow that was perfect for packing. So if they couldn’t have a water fight, Tony was pretty sure he knew the next best thing: Snowball fight. They’d get all wet, and out of breath, and flustered. It would be totally sexy, with the added bonus of having to “warm each other up” wink wink, nudge nudge, all that good stuff. 

Yeah, Tony was a genius. 

***

Tony was not a genius. Tony was the biggest idiot to have ever lived. Nothing about this was even remotely sexy. He hadn’t had a snowball fight since he was seven, and had somehow managed to convince Jarvis it would be an important life skill. And somehow, in the ensuing years, he had managed to forget just how  _ cold _ snow was.

“Oh! Oh fuck!” he yelped as an entire handful of snow was dumped down the back of his jacket. “Oh fucking fuckity fuck!” He bounced around, squirming as the icy snow melted down his spine. “Oh fuck, it’s cold. It’s too fucking cold.” He paused to glare at Rhodey, who was actually cackling. “Where the hell did you even come from?”

Rhodey just shrugged, giving Tony a wink that made him feel all flushed and too hot. “I got skills, man. I told you what would happen if you tried to start something with me.” 

Tony opened his mouth to retort, but all that came out was an embarrassingly high-pitched squeal as icy slush slid right down the crack of his ass. 

This was not sexy at all. 

“This is awful,” he moaned. “Everything’s so cold. I’m freezing and somehow sweating at the same time? What the fuck is this? And why can’t my teeth stop chattering??”

Rhodey snorted, laughing at him. His eyes were fond, but ‘my adorable adopted brother roommate’ fond, not ‘I’m so in love with you it’s driving me crazy’ fond. Tony pouted. “You are so rich, it’s embarrassing,” Rhodey informed him. “You ready to admit defeat?” 

“Never,” Tony replied, but it was half-hearted at best. 

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he told him, slinging an arm around Tony’s shoulder, and steering him toward their apartment. “I’ll even make you some conciliatory hot chocolate, I’m just that good of a friend.” 

And that had been Tony’s next step, dammit! But he still found himself going along with Rhodey, warming up where their sides were pressed up against each other. 

“Yup,” he agreed, doing his best to keep the disappointment out of his voice. “You’re the best, honeybear.”

  
  



	2. How Chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the 'Hot Chocolate' square of the Tony Stark December Flash Bingo

Tony was still shivering by the time they made it back to the apartment, his clothes soaked through, and so naturally Rhodey went into mother hen mode. He shoved Tony in the direction of the bathroom, telling him take a hot shower and warm up. He’d hauled Tony’s jacket off first, when his fingers were too numb to work the zipper, but it wasn’t exactly the sexy striptease that Tony had had in mind. He couldn’t help sulking as he waited for the water to heat, especially when he pulled off his hat and saw how terrible his hair was. He  _ knew _ that hat had been a terrible idea. He stripped off the rest of his clothes and left them in a messy pile on the floor in protest.

He stood under the water for entirely too long, turning it up until it was almost scaldingly hot, his skin turning red beneath the spray. He hadn’t realized how tense all the shivering had made him, and as his muscles loosened under the hot water, he started to feel a bit better. It wasn’t a lost cause yet. He could still salvage this. 

When he returned to the living room, he was wearing ass-framing sweatpants and a tank top to show off the biceps that he’d gained sometime in the last year. Rhodey didn’t say anything, but he did give him a look and Tony smirked to himself as he flopped across the couch. Oh yeah, he knew how to work his  _ ass _ etts. 

He was still snickering to himself when Rhodey came in with the promised hot chocolate, arching an eyebrow as he passed him his mug. “What the fuck are you giggling about?” 

“I’m not giggling!” he protested, jostling Rhodey’s shoulder and nearly spilling the drinks all over the two of them. Rhodey shoved him back just as hard, the two of them kicking and shoving at each other until they settled half draped over each other, comfortable and easy. 

“Thanks honeybear,” he purred, batting his eyelashes at Rhodey over the top of the mug. “But we all know you’re the real hot chocolate in the room.”

He cringed internally as soon as he said it, doubly so when Rhodey just stared back at him blankly. 

“There’s something wrong with you, man.” 

Tony pouted, hiding his awkwardness with a too big swallow of hot chocolate that that burnt his tongue a little. Rhodey would never tell him the secret, but he was a master of hot chocolate and Tony hummed happily as he sipped at the drink, letting the heat settle warm and soothing in his belly. Rhodey’s arm had settled across the back of the couch, and Tony was hyper aware of how close his fingers were to the back of his neck, the press of his thigh all along the outside of Tony’s own. Rhodey had flipped on the tv, finding some low-budget Christmas movie for the two of them to make fun of, but Tony couldn’t really focus, his mind racing. 

“Hey.” Rhodey bumped his shoulder again, gentler this time. “You okay? You’re awful quiet tonight.”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine!” And this was it, this was the moment to turn on the charm. He had any number of flirty one liners he could try out. But instead he found himself grinning at the other man. “Just planning my strategy for the next snowball fight.”

Rhodey snorted, relaxing into the couch as he shifted to prop his feet up on the coffee table. “Yeah right, man. In your dreams.” His fingers brushed against Tony’s shoulder, and he shivered a little at the touch. 

“You, um…” He pulled at a loose thread on his pants, pretending not to notice the way the motion dragged his fingers over Rhodey’s thigh. He swallowed, wondering what was wrong with him, why he felt so nervous and like he’d never done this before. “Ready for New Year’s? Party party.”

“Oh yeah. Got snazzy new threads and everything.” 

Tony laughed, turned to look at him and found Rhodey already looking back. His eyes were soft and fond and Tony felt his heart skip a beat. He dropped his gaze to Rhodey’s lips, plush and inviting, noted the way his tongue darted out, licking them.

_ Kiss him _ , Tony thought to himself.  _ Quit being a coward, Stark. Kiss him, kiss him, kiss him! _ That’s all he had to do, and then instead of going to the party together, they could go to the party  _ together _ , New Years Eve kisses, the whole deal. Rhodey was still staring at him, eyes heated now, and the moment stretched out. His fingers rubbed over Tony’s shoulder again, deliberate this time, and his skin burned pleasantly at the touch. All he had to do was lean in and kiss him. 

Tony cleared his throat and turned back to the television. “Yeah,” he mumbled, staring at his knee until his vision blurred. “Yeah, me too.” 

***

Much later, Tony lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what the fuck was wrong with him. Granted he’d been the biggest nerd when he’d first arrived at university, but once he’d gotten over  _ that _ particular phase, he’d never had a problem sealing the deal. It had become second nature for him to flirt and sweet talk, to draw people in and turn on the charm. And this was Rhodey, who he got along with better than anyone, who he could talk to as naturally as breathing. 

If anything, this should have been easier. Sex was nothing new, sex he could do. But there was always all the other stuff, the awkward small talk, the ‘we wanna fuck but don’t have anything else in common,’ the post-coital getaway. He wouldn’t have to worry about any of that with Rhodey. He didn’t think they’d had an awkward moment in their lives. 

And he wanted to have sex with Rhodey, of course he did. The man was gorgeous, and Tony had a healthy imagination, so he knew instinctively how phenomenal it would be. But more than that, he just wanted to be  _ with _ him, wanted to just hang out, and talk -- or not talk even -- and… and fucking hold hands or whatever. He didn’t mind if they had sex or not, just wanted to spend time with him. Wanted to spend all his time with him. 

Tony huffed and rolled over, punching his pillow. Maybe he’d gotten the whole thing wrong, and it was all just wishful thinking on his part. He hadn’t missed the moment because there  _ was _ no moment, no feelings on Rhodey’s part. He hadn’t been waiting for Tony to kiss him, he’d just been wondering why the fuck he was staring at him like some kind of weirdo. 

He kicked his sheets off and rolled over again, squeezing his eyes shut against the sudden burn in them. This was all stupid anyway; for all his genius, Tony could be a real fucking idiot. Lying here daydreaming about just spending time with Rhodey, like that wasn’t what they did all the time anyway. Yeah, real fucking romantic, Stark. Let’s just spend all our time together, except, oh wait, we already exactly what we do. Tony shoved his face into his pillow to muffle his noise of frustration. 

Maybe he should stick to building robots. 


	3. New Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the 'New Year' square of the TSB December flash bingo

Tony wandered aimlessly through the party, trying to avoid people; he wasn’t in a very conversational mood. Rhodey had been waylaid by some ROTC buddies shortly after they’d arrived, and Tony had lost track of him in the packed party. He had a glass of champagne in hand, his third one of the night, but not even the slight alcoholic buzz he had was making him feel any better. 

He felt unmoored, somehow, lost in a way that he couldn’t fully explain. He’d had this big stupid plan, had worked it out for longer than he wanted to admit. And it had all been stupid, and pointless, because clearly it was all based on wishful thinking and not facts. And now Rhodey would be leaving in just a few months, and they’d both be caught up with school until then, and he’d missed his chance -- if there’d even been one at all. 

Feeling abruptly nauseous, Tony deposited the glass of champagne of the closest table, his buzz gone. He could feel a headache coming on and he rubbed at his temples, trying to stave it off --

Which was when he finally spotted Rhodey.

He was standing a few feet away, talking to some blonde woman. She was as tall as him, muscular and gorgeous, eyes sparkling as she spoke to him. Clearly they knew each other. Her hand was curled around his upper arm and as watched, Rhodey gripped her forearm in return, using her for support as he laughed at whatever she’d said. 

Tony felt his heart sink. 

He watched them a moment longer, how easy and relaxed and happy they were around each other. He felt stupid and ridiculous and impossibly young, in ways that he hadn’t since he’d first arrived at MIT, and it wasn’t even midnight yet but he just really wanted to get out of there. 

Rhodey glanced up then, spotted Tony and waved him over, but Tony pretended not to notice, turning away and ducking into the crowd. He had no right to feel so broken hearted -- Rhodey didn’t owe him anything, hadn’t promised him anything -- but that didn’t make it hurt any less. All he wanted right now was to get out of here and lick his wounds, wallow in how sad he was. Maybe he could claim a family emergency, head out of town until the new semester started. Hole up somewhere in a five-star resort and drink the pain away. Rhodey was the only one who worried about his tendencies toward alcoholic behaviour anyway. 

Tony was so focused on leaving that he stopped paying attention to the people around him, which was a mistake. He was almost to the door when he got waylaid by some classmates-cum-future business contacts, and it was a good few minutes before he could politely extract himself from the conversation. 

Finally he was slipping out of the ballroom and down the hall. He passed a few people here or there, mostly tipsy couples looking for a quiet place to fool around, and he ignored them, ignored the pang in his chest when he thought how just yesterday he’d thought  _ he _ would be one of those tipsy couples. Whatever. It was stupid, he was stupid. The whole holiday season was stupid. 

Of course, he shouldn’t have thought he’d be lucky enough to be able to make a clean getaway. He was just a couple steps down the main staircase when Rhodey’s voice rang out. 

“ _ There _ you are!” 

For just a minute, Tony considered ignoring him, continuing out the door without looking back. But Rhodey wasn’t stupid. He’d maybe gotten away with it in the ballroom, but if he tried it again, he’d know something was wrong with Tony. And then of course he’d follow him, because he was a good friend like that, and then Tony and his stupid expectations would have ruined Rhodey’s New Year as well. 

Plus, by that point he’d hesitated long enough that he’d obviously heard the other man. 

Steeling himself with a deep breath, Tony turned to face Rhodey, forcing a smile on his face. “Yeah, I was just... “ He gestured vaguely for the main doors below them. “Getting some air.”  _ In Tahiti _ , his brain added bitterly.

Rhodey arched an eyebrow, clearly not buying Tony’s smile, but he didn’t call him on it. “Getting some air?” he repeated instead. “It’s almost midnight, you doofus. You’re going to miss the countdown.”

Tony just smiled faintly, gave a half-hearted shrug because yeah, that had kind of been the point.

Rhodey frowned. “Hey, you alright?” he asked, coming closer until he was balanced on the step just above Tony. “I’ve been looking for you all night, kept missing you.” 

“You have?” Tony asked blankly, stopped himself from tacking a ‘why’ onto the end of the question. That was just a little too needy, even for him. 

“Obviously,” Rhodey told him, flicking his ear and making Tony wrinkle his nose at him. “Came here with you.” 

Tony knew he should make up excuse up and duck out, that he was only hurting himself the longer he stayed. But he couldn’t seem to pull himself away, his masochistic tendencies kicking in, apparently. “Who, um… Who was that girl you were taking to earlier?” he asked, trying to sound bored and faintly curious, instead of like the jealous lunatic he really was. “She seemed nice,” he added lamely. 

Rhodey’s eyebrows arched and his expression cleared, lips curling into a slow smile. “Carol?” he asked. 

Tony shrugged again. 

“She’s an Air Force friend. Phenomenal pilot.” 

Rhodey was looking at him now like he knew something Tony didn’t and he dropped his gaze, eyes getting stuck on the bit of bare skin at the base of Rhodey’s throat, where he’d loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top couple buttons of his shirt. 

“Oh,” he said. Distantly he could hear a chorus from the ballroom as everyone began counting down the last few seconds of the year. “She seemed nice,” he said again, wincing when he realized he was repeating himself. 

“Yeah,” Rhodey drawled. “Her girlfriend seems to think so too.” 

Tony’s eyes shot up to meet his again, and he found Rhodey grinning at him wide and open. The count from the other room grew louder and louder, and as they hit the last few seconds, Rhodey’s hands came up, cupping his cheeks and then dragging down to curl around his neck. Tony stared at Rhodey with wide, unblinking eyes, and as the cheers and noisemakers and strains of Auld Lang Syne filtered out to them, Rhodey leaned forward and kissed him. 

It was soft and gentle, and not even remotely chaste, and for an embarrassingly long moment, Tony found himself staring at Rhodey’s closed eyes, wondering if he was dreaming. Then Rhodey started to pull back and Tony made a soft noise of protest, hands coming up to curl around Rhodey’s wrists, hold him in place as he finally got with the program and kissed him back properly, sucking softly at his lower lip until Rhodey made a noise that sent hot shivers up his spine. 

They were both breathing hard when they pulled apart, Rhodey’s eyes hot and pleased. He stroked his thumb over the pulse in Tony’s neck. “Happy New Year, Tones,” he breathed, close enough that Tony could feel his breath against his lips, and there wasn’t much he could do except kiss him again, hands moving to squeeze tightly at Rhodey’s hips. 

“Still need that air?” Rhodey teased when they finally pulled away for real several minutes later, both flushed and panting and disheveled. 

Tony rolled his eyes at him and then shivered. At some point his shirt had come untucked from his pants, and Rhodey’s hand was underneath, tracing distracting lines over his spine. “Only if you’re coming with me,” he told him, and Rhodey beamed. 

“Yeah, I think I can manage that.” He leaned in, giving him one more quick kiss. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.” 

  
  



	4. Joy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the 'Joy' square of the TSB December Flash Bingo

Tony woke slowly, cozy and warm beneath a mountain of blankets. He’d slept incredibly well, possibly better than he ever had in his life, and it took a minute for his brain to catch up, sleepy and pleasantly slow. He blinked at walls that weren’t his, snuggling deeper into a comforter that didn’t belong to him. Rhodey was behind him, snugged up warm against his back. He was still asleep, breathing steady and even against the back of Tony’s neck, making him shiver deliciously. And as he became more aware of himself, he realized that Rhodey’s arm was curled around his waist, long fingers resting on the bare skin of his belly. It was a simple touch, light and familiar, intimate without being sexy, and Tony bit his lip in delight. 

They hadn’t even done anything last night, not really. They’d caught a cab home, sitting close enough in the back that their fingers almost brushed. Back in the privacy of their apartment, they’d stripped out of their fancy suits, ragging on each other like always, except this time, when Tony shoved Rhodey, Rhodey caught his wrist and dragged him in for a slow, lazy kiss. And instead of saying their goodnights and splitting off to different bedrooms, Tony had entwined his fingers with Rhodey’s, following him into his bedroom. They hadn’t done anything more than make out a little until they both grew sleepy and crawled under the covers. 

Tony was pretty sure it was the best night of his life. 

Even now, just thinking about it, Tony could feel a dumb, goofy grin splitting his cheeks. He turned to bury his face in the pillow, and lost himself in the scent of Rhodey’s cologne, sharp and spicy and familiar. 

Rhodey’s arm tightened around Tony’s middle, dragging him closer against him and pressing a kiss to the back of his neck. “What the fuck’re you giggling about?” Rhodey mumbled into his skin, voice hoarse and sleepy, fondness audible in every word. And good god, Tony wanted to wake up to that sound every single morning for the rest of his life. 

“‘M not,” he protested, wiggling back against him and tangling his fingers with Rhodey’s over his stomach. It was stupid and soppy and ridiculous, and he was loving every second of it. “Your pillow smells good,” he admitted a second later, feeling Rhodey’s lips quirk into a smile against his neck. 

“God you’re embarrassing,” Rhodey told him, like he wasn’t loving every second of it. “You wanna wear my letterman jacket too?” 

Tony snorted. He didn’t think he’d ever been so happy, joy filling him up from the inside. “Like you were ever a football player. You’re too short.” 

“Hey!” Rhodey protested, but before he could work himself up into a full protest, Tony was rolling over and kissing him. Rhodey immediately relaxed beneath him, melting into the kiss and humming against his lips. His hands slid up, fingers tangling into Tony’s too long hair, and Tony shivered at the touch, stroking his fingers up and down his side. 

“Mmm… Morning,” he hummed when they pulled back, both a little out breath and Tony sporting some pretty epic sex hair. 

“God, your morning breath is awful,” Rhodey told him in reply, killing himself laughing when Tony planted a hand over his face and shoved. 

“God, I hate you,” Tony retorted, kicking him for good measure. Rhodey was still cackling, and Tony gave him another hard shove, wincing when Rhodey gave a sharp yelp as he went over the side of the bed. “Oh shit.” 

Tony scooted over to the side of the bed, tangling himself up further in the bedsheets in the process. He peered over the side of the bed, half worried he’d find Rhodey with a cracked open head, or something else ridiculous, but Rhodey was just lying there sprawled out in his boxers, still laughing. Tony gave him a somewhat sheepish grin. 

“Um. Whoops? Sorry, honeybear.” 

Rhodey snorted and rolled his eyes, making grabby hands at Tony. “Just come here.” 

Tony squirmed, trying to get out of the bed, but his legs were hopelessly tangled in the sheets. Eventually Rhodey had to reach up and yank Tony right off the bed and onto of him, snorting again at the panicked noise Tony made in the process. 

“God,” he breathed, brushing a curl back from Tony’s forehead. “You are such a disaster.” 

“I’m not,” Tony argued automatically, like he hadn’t ended up dragging the entirety of the bedding down with him. Rhodey arched an eyebrow at him and Tony giggled, pressing his forehead to Rhodey’s chest and hiding his face. “Okay, maybe a little,” he admitted. Propping his chin on his hands, he fluttered his eyes at him. “But I’m your disaster.” 

Rhodey snorted. “You’re ridiculous, is what you are.” Then he was flipping them, elbows framing Tony’s head as he grinned down at him. “I love you, baby,” he hummed, shifting to kiss Tony long, and soft, and slow, fingers stroking over Tony’s cheek. Then he pulled away, hopping to his feet with ridiculous ease. “Come on, hotshot. I’ll make breakfast. Actual breakfast, an omelette or something.”

“Boo,” Tony hollered after him, grinning at the ceiling, since Rhodey wouldn’t be able to see the stupid look on his face. “You’re a terrible cook!”

“Better’n you!” Rhodey shot back, and Tony grinned even wider. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he hadn’t been completely hungover for New Years Day, but even though he felt amazing today, all he just wanted to collapse on the couch anyway, spend the day curled up with Rhodey, lazing around and watching tv. It was snowing outside, big fat flakes hitting the window, and the perfect day for couch cuddling. 

“Stark! Get your ass in here or I’m eating all the bacon!” 

Grinning so hard his face hurt, Tony started to roll to his feet. And then stopped. He squirmed a little, but they’d fallen off the wall side of the bed, and his legs were well and truly twisted in all the blankets and -- shit -- he was stuck. 

“Uh… Rhodey?  _ Rhodes _ ??”

And when Rhodey finally appeared and laughed so hard at him that he couldn’t even help him for a solid two minutes, Tony only loved him more.


	5. Happy Hogan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a bingo! For the 'Happy Hogan' square of the TSB December Flash Bingo.

“And  _ that _ ,” Tony declared triumphantly, “Is how I seduced one James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes.” 

“Uh-huh.” Happy didn’t so much as look up from whatever he was cooking, and Tony frowned at him, stilling his idle spinning on the barstool. 

“Okay, why do you sound like that? You don’t believe me? What?” 

“Nothing, boss!” Happy glanced over his shoulder at him and then quickly turned back to the food. “Just, you know… I’ve known you awhile, and I’ve known him awhile…” He didn’t finish the thought. “But hey! Twenty nine years, that’s nothing to sneeze at. Got anything good planned?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at Happy, but before he could question him further, the husband in question was walking into the kitchen. 

“What’re we planning?” he asked, dropping a kiss to the side of Tony’s neck with a soft, “Morning, baby.” 

Tony beamed, tipping his head back to look up at him. “Our twenty-ninth anniversary, obviously.” 

Rhodey arched an eyebrow at him, lips quirking. “Okay, one our wedding was in October. Two? We’ve only been married for four years.” 

“Yeah, but we’ve been  _ dating _ for twenty-nine years, and that sounds better, so that’s the number I’m sticking with.” 

Rhodey snorted and then spun Tony to give him a proper kiss, ignoring Happy’s complaints about how unsanitary it was to be macking in the kitchen. “God, I love you,” he told him, pouring himself a cup of coffee and taking the barstool beside him. 

Tony preened. “I was just telling Happy the epic story of our romance.” He winked and fluttered his eyelashes, blowing Rhodey a kiss. “My big romantic plan. How I seduced you with snowball fights and hot chocolate and New Year’s Eve.” 

Rhodey choked on his coffee. “I’m sorry, how you what now?” 

“How I seduced you with snowball fights and hot chocolate and New Year’s Eve?”

Rhodey burst out laughing. “That was planned? That was a  _ seduction _ ? Oh Tony, baby, you are so fucking precious and I love you more every day.” 

Happy started snickering over the stove, and Tony stared back and forth between the two of them. “Okay, why the fuck is this so funny?” 

By this point, Rhodey had his hands buried in his arms on the bar, shoulders shaking he was laughing so hard. He looked up at Tony’s demands though, leaning in and kissing him again. “I had no idea you had some big plan, baby. I thought you were just being… You.” 

Tony blinked at him. “I feel like I’m being insulted, but I’m not sure how.” He shook his head. “You really didn’t know?” 

“I mean…” Rhodey shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, you definitely looked cute as hell, all pouty and flushed with snow down your shirt. But, uh…” His lips quirked as he fought back another bout of laughter. “I definitely didn’t realize that was meant to be a seduction technique.” 

He leaned in for another kiss, Tony’s incredulous face too much to resist, but Tony shoved him away, turning to Happy instead. “Back me up here, Hogan. Do your damn job! Tell Colonel Rhodes he’s wrong.” 

Happy was laughing too, and he was definitely fired. “Sorry boss,” he said, not sounding sorry in the slightest. “When I met you, you had exactly zero game. Don’t think much had changed. Always wondered how you managed to snag the Colonel, honestly.” 

Tony was shaking his head. “I don’t believe this,” he said, turning back to Rhodey. “I’m leaving you for Rogers.” 

Rhodey actually scoffed at him. “No you’re not. Come on, Tones. Rogers? He’s totally not your type. He’s  _ army _ .” 

Despite himself, Tony grinned. “No. I’m not,” he admitted. “But seriously, nothing? What about the hot chocolate?” 

“What hot chocolate? You have literally never made me hot chocolate in your life.”

“Well I know I  _ didn’t _ . But I was going to, you just got there first.” Rhodey was staring at him blankly and Tony shook his head. “I don’t believe this. My entire life has been a lie.” 

“Aww.” Rhodey kissed him again, stroking long fingers over the inside of Tony’s thigh just to watch him squirm. “Don’t be like that, baby. We got there in the end, didn’t we?” 

“Yeah,” Tony admitted, sinking into another kiss. “Wait,” he added after a moment. “How  _ did _ we get there? If you didn’t know what I was doing, why did you kiss me at the party?” 

“Uhh…” 

Rhodey looked to Happy for support, but Tony waved a hand in front of his face, drawing the attention back to him. 

“No, no. Don’t look at him. Tell me what made you kiss me.”

“Um.” Rhodey’s hand was still rubbing over his thigh, preemptively soothing, and Tony narrowed his eyes at him. “Because we were on a date?” 

“We were  _ what _ ?” Tony asked, voice going up about two octaves in pitch. “Don’t you fucking laugh at me,” he added, when Rhodey chewed on his lip to fight back a grin. “What do you mean we were on a date?” 

Rhodey’s eyes were sparkling with laughter. “I asked if you’d be my New Years date like, two weeks before that, baby. You said yes, so I figured, you know… We were dating?” 

“What..? I thought… But...” Spluttering, Tony thought back, but he couldn’t remember  _ how _ they’d decided that they’d go to the party together, just that they were. He’d assumed it was because they’d always gone to those things together. “I don’t remember that. How don’t I remember that??” 

“I mean…” Rhodey’s lips were pressed tightly together, but it wasn’t doing much to hide the fact that he was laughing at Tony. “You were in the lab at the time? You  _ seemed _ coherent.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“I thought you knew!” 

Happy was now outright laughing, had to turn the stove off before he burnt the contents of the pan, and Tony glared at him. “JARVIS, please set a reminder to fire Happy later.” 

“Absolutely, sir.” JARVIS’ voice was utterly dry, clearly intending to no such thing, and Tony rolled his eyes. 

“You’re all conspiring against me,” he grumbled. 

Rhodey laughed and leaned in, pressing a kiss under his ear. “You’re ridiculous,” he told him, getting to his feet.

“Hey, no, wait.” Tony caught his hand, throwing a tangerine at Happy’s still-laughing back. “If you’d asked me out two weeks earlier, why the fuck did you wait until New Year’s Eve to kiss me?” 

Rhodey drew in a deep breath. “Well, you know… You were acting a little weird—,”

“Because I was planning how to ask  _ you _ out!” 

“And so I figured you were just… Kind of… Shy.” 

“Shy?” Tony shrieked. “You thought I was  _ shy _ ?”

Rhodey was still laughing at him, and Tony threw his arms up in the air. 

“I don’t believe this,” he said yet again. “It’s like you don’t know me at all.” 

“Hey, give me a break! I’m not saying you couldn’t close the deal—,”

“I should fucking hope not!” 

“But you had a lot of one night stands, Tones. I just thought you might be freaking out when it actually meant something.” 

Tony opened his mouth to argue but, well, he wasn’t wrong. Even without knowing they were dating, he’d been driving himself crazy over it. “Still,” he grumbled. 

Rhodey just laughed and wound his arms around him, pulling Tony in for a slow, lazy kiss. “Come on,” he hummed, voice dropping into that tone that never failed to make Tony melt. “I’ll make up for those two weeks of lost kisses right now.” 

“Oh, come on!” Happy protested as they headed for the bedroom, kissing and giggling like they were still in university. “I’m still standing right here!”


End file.
